Fake flame, p.14
Fake Flame, page 14
“Sounds pretty simple,” Eva said. “I might be an English teacher, but I can definitely make change in five-dollar increments. That much math is okay.”
“Good sport,” Felix said. “And let me know if you need a bathroom break.” He pointed to a big Coleman cooler. “Bottles of water are in there. Keep hydrated, because it’s going to be a hot one. And I don’t just mean the women who’ll be lined up to hug that big lunk.”
Eva, who’d been focused on the logistics of volunteering, suddenly froze. Because there would be other women, not just cute kids. Hugging Sean. And she was going to have to watch it for four long hours. Those big arms and broad chest were hers to touch, dammit. Not anyone else’s.
Suddenly, volunteering for this seemed like a terrible idea.
She realized Felix was studying her face carefully and she tried to smile, though the expression felt forced and unnatural and probably wouldn’t fool a first-grader. “Sean’s popular at these things, I’d imagine.”
Felix rolled his eyes. “You have no idea. If we did one of those charity calendars and he was Mr. January, I don’t think anyone who bought one would know what day it was come February. They’d just never turn the page. Forever.”
“Ha.” Yeah. Eva wouldn’t have fooled a toddler with this act.
Felix sidled closer. “I thought your deal was fake. But you don’t seem like it is.”
“Yeah. It was. It isn’t anymore.”
“Yesss.” Felix gave a little fist pump and raised his palm for a high five. When her palm smacked into his, he said, “Great taste, my new friend.”
“What tastes great?” A woman with a short crop of dark hair and huge brown eyes had arrived and was looking from Eva to Felix and back again.
“Sean, apparently,” Felix said. And this time Eva smacked him in the shoulder while he ducked away, laughing.
* * *
Sean had never minded the hug-a-firefighter event. After all, it was a minimal effort for a good cause. And it beat those “put your cash in a boot” things where the squad hung out at a highly trafficked intersection and roamed around at every red light, trying to get their enormous boots brimful with cash. He always felt like he was going to get lung cancer from inhaling all the exhaust at those things. Not to mention they always seemed to be scheduled on the hottest, most humid day of the year.
But he could see that Eva, despite making bright conversation with his colleagues and the customers, wasn’t particularly happy with seeing him hug other people. If they hadn’t had their moment in the parking lot an hour ago, he might have even felt glad about that jealousy. But they had, and the idea that he was making her unhappy in any way fell very squarely in the not-good column.
When they had a lull, he slipped over to where she stood at the cash box and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing the top of her head.
“Giving me a freebie, huh?” she asked, and his heart nearly broke from the feeble approximation of her usual sassy tone.
“Anytime for you. You’re not loving this, huh?”
She twisted slightly, looking up at his face, astonishment shining in her eyes. “I... No. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I don’t love seeing you hug other people.”
He gave her a little squeeze. “I get it. If the roles were reversed, I’d be feeling very off about it. I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have asked you to help out, but we weren’t official then, and I didn’t think you’d care.”
She frowned a little, thinking. “That’s the weird thing. I’ve never been jealous before. And I don’t even think it’s jealousy, exactly. It’s more like, I don’t know, a weird kind of possessiveness.”
He would be an absolute liar if that statement didn’t make him want to grin like the cheesiest bastard ever. God, but this woman was it. He knew it in that moment. He wasn’t just thrilled to be in a relationship with her; he was falling in love with her.
“Only another hour or so. Then my arms are yours, one hundred percent.”
“Considering the fact that I’m a huge fan of your arms, I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Hold me to it? Puns? And here I thought you were a classy dame.”
She smacked him lightly on the chest as someone approached the booth. “Get back to work, slacker. You’ve got charity money to raise.”
And the smile she gave him as he walked away was so full of wicked promise, it made plans bloom in his mind like a garden.
Eighteen
“I think my feet are two sizes bigger from standing,” Eva groaned as Sean pulled up in front of her house.
“Want me to rub them for you?” he asked, shooting her a sly grin that seemed to arrow straight down to her groin. When they’d finished their volunteer shift, they’d taken a walk around the fairgrounds, eating funnel cake and taking in the sights, including the pig races. Eva had forgotten how much she loved the pig—piglet, really—races. They were so silly and cute. Sean apparently felt the same, because his face went all soft like he found the tiny creatures adorable as well.
“You definitely don’t want to get anywhere near my feet until I’ve had a chance to take a shower,” she said as they got out of the truck. She could hear Timmy barking inside the house. “Oh, and I have to walk his royal highness before I can do that.”
He stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could unlock the front door. “Let me do that. You go and take a leisurely shower. I’ll do a speed walk with the Timster.”
She nearly collapsed in a puddle at the unexpected reprieve. It wasn’t like walking Timmy was a burden or difficult or anything, but to have that task suddenly taken off her shoulders? In that moment it felt like the biggest luxury she could imagine. “You’d do that for me?”
“I’d do far more than that. I think you should know that by now,” he told her, his eyes shining with sincerity, making her insides scramble.
“Okay. Thank you.” She let them inside and clipped Timmy’s leash to his collar. Timmy gave her a confused look when she handed it off to Sean and she crouched and gave him one of his massage/rubs. “You go and be good for Sean. Then later I’ll give you your dinner.” Still clearly confused, Timmy went quietly with Sean and she closed the door, leaning on it for a few breaths. She needed to mark this date on her calendar: the date everything changed.
Pushing away from the door she went upstairs, turned on the shower and stripped off her sweaty clothing, jamming it into her laundry hamper. Her shirt definitely no longer smelled like Sean’s laundry soap. In the shower, she scrubbed what felt like every inch of her body and started to revive like a wilting plant being watered. Out of the shower, her hair in a towel turban, she moisturized and wrapped herself in her robe. Okay. Now she felt human again.
The sound of her front door opening and closing then the jingle of Timmy’s tags and the click of his nails on the hardwood made her smile. This was so cozy and domestic, and nothing she’d ever thought she’d experience with Sean.
Then he was there, filling up the doorway to her bathroom, making her smile. “You look very fancy, lady.”
She laughed, glee bubbling up in her like a fountain. “In my bathrobe and with a towel on my head?”
He stepped forward, stockinged feet making no noise on the tile. He must have taken his shoes off in the entryway. That small consideration sent a little thrill through her. “You look gorgeous in anything. But I like you best in nothing at all. Take everything off and take your sweet behind to the bed. I’ll clean up and be right with you.”
Heat bloomed between her thighs. That slight edge of bossiness? She would never have thought that would do it for her.
But like the way he called her baby, it did. It so did.
* * *
Sean took the world’s fastest shower, erotic imaginings streaming through his brain in high definition. Eva was in the next room. Naked.
When he emerged, clean and dry and sporting an erection that could qualify as a load-bearing beam, he found her on her back, damp hair streaming across the pillows, looking at him with those gorgeous eyes that absolutely undid him every single time he saw her.
“You said you have plans?” she asked, tracing a finger over the top curve of one breast.
“More every second.” His voice was rough, raspy and her pupils flared. “In fact...” He gripped his shaft and gave it a few long, slow strokes, gratified with the way her hips shifted as she watched him.
“You going to use that on me or are you going to stay over there by yourself?” Where had that sex-kitten voice come from? Wherever it had, he liked it.
“Well,” he said, stalking over to the bed and stretching himself out on top of her plank-style so just the tip of his dick touched her. “I was thinking something like this.” He dropped onto her and rolled so she was on top, enjoying the rich sound of her laugh. “Sit up, baby.” She tucked her knees under her and sat on his abs, then gasped when he grabbed her butt and lifted, sliding down so he could look straight at her glorious pussy. She smelled delicious, too, like clean skin and aroused woman. He guided her down to his mouth and began a slow, teasing series of licks, relishing the shudder that went through her thighs. She moaned and he smiled, rewarding her with a little flutter on her clit. A gasp. Another reward.
Her hands thudded onto the headboard and she said, “Is that your way of saying you want me to be vocal?”
He hummed in approval and slowly pushed a finger in as he returned to the slow licks. She trembled and moaned and he sped up, hooking his finger forward.
“Oh, God. Sean.”
There’s my smart girl, he thought, giving her another flutter and another finger. His dick throbbed with want, nearly painful. But he knew he’d get satisfaction later. By now she was moving, riding his mouth and his hand, so tense and glorious and his that he felt like the king of the universe. She was also chanting his name like it was some sort of ritual or prayer. He pushed a third finger in, pumping steadily, and clamped her hip with his other hand, giving her clit an all-out assault with his tongue that had her keening and shaking and shattering, the flavor of her release flooding his mouth. One final shudder rippled through her body and she slid her hips back, his fingers sliding out, to sit on his chest, then sliding farther until she could touch her lips to his.
“Oh, my God, you magnificent man. That was the best orgasm of my life.”
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Emperor of the universe.
* * *
She was a secret sex goddess. That had to be it. It was the only reasonable explanation for the fact that this man, this delicious, wonderful man, was hers. And had just laid waste to her body in the most astonishing way she had ever experienced. The aftershocks were still reverberating through her and she felt both wrung out and energized.
“Don’t turn into a puddle on me now, sweetheart,” he said, giving her butt a stinging slap that chased away the wrung-out feeling and sent a zing up her spine. “You gave me some ideas a few minutes ago.”
“I gave you ideas?” she asked, her voice veering dangerously close to a giggle. What the hell was it about this man that he turned her into a giggler?
He nodded solemnly, grabbing her wrists and lifting them. “Hands on the headboard.”
Ooh, that slight bossy edge. Her inner muscles clenched and she gripped the headboard, lifting her hips to let him slide out from under her. She heard the sound of a condom wrapper ripping and turned her head to treat herself to the sight of him rolling it on, letting a smile steal across her face as he looked up to see her watching. His eyes went dark and sultry, his hands slowing.
“Show-off,” she said.
“When the audience is so appreciative it’s hard not to,” he replied.
“Fair. Because I am appreciative.”
He leaned forward and dragged the tip of his cock through her folds. “So am I,” he said, his voice a whisper that seemed to trail across her skin like a feather, making her shiver. Then he began to push inside her so slowly that she wanted to scream. But when she tried to lean back into him, he merely gripped her hips and held her still, continuing his gradual slide. Torture. That was the only reason why he’d do this. He’d had three fingers inside her, after all. She was ready. More than ready. When he finally bottomed out, he slid his hands from her hips up her back and she arched like a cat being petted. “My beautiful girl. Do you know how glad I am that this is real?”
The vulnerability in his voice shredded her. She turned her head and her gaze met his. That same raw emotion was there in his face and he bent to kiss her, their tongues playing as his hips started a small, pulsing beat. She broke the kiss with a groan, dropping her head between her arms so she could brace against the longer, stronger thrusts he was now giving her. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensation of his cock sliding in and out of her, the sound of their flesh slapping together, the smell of sweat and arousal.
When he reached an arm around her and found her clit with his fingers, she shuddered as he strummed her in the same rhythm as his thrusts. This orgasm took her by surprise, sending her trembling and shattering and clenching just moments before he locked up behind her, groaning and shaking until they both slid onto the bed in a warm, satisfied heap. He was hers. She was his. And she’d never been happier in her life.
* * *
He had to get off Eva. The poor woman must be suffocating under his weight. But when he lifted himself up and settled in next to her, she gave a little whimper.
“I wasn’t crushing you?” he asked as he plucked tissues from a box on her nightstand and took care of the condom.
“No.” She turned her face toward his and he felt a little jolt of pride at the loopy, satisfied expression on her face. She snuggled in beside him and he wrapped an arm around her, rolling to his back and dragging her half onto his chest.
“This okay, then?”
“Very.” She put her lips to the center of his chest, kissing him softly and making his heart feel like it was going to burst.
“You make me very, very happy, you know that?” he asked.
“Me, too.”
It was at that tender moment that Sean’s stomach gave an aggressive growl. He laughed, bouncing Eva’s head on his chest. “Guess that funnel cake is not holding down the fort anymore,” he said.
“I can see what I have in the fridge.” Eva’s voice had a hazy dreaminess to it that said she was still in a post-sex fog.
“Nah. Let’s just order something. That takes less thinking and no cooking.”
“Genius.” She stirred and he let her go, admiring the line of her back as she sat on the edge of the bed and stretched.
Rolling to his feet, he found enough garments to make himself decent in front of a delivery driver and put them on while Eva did the same and then he had Yelp show him the delivery options in her area. “Pizza good for you?”
“Very. What do you take on yours?” There was a sly expression on her face.
“Ooh. Is this going to be the first relationship hurdle? What is your stance on pineapple? Let’s have it.”
The expression on her face said it all. Wrinkled nose, narrowed eyes, pure rejection. That’s it. He was definitely in love.
He laughed. “No conflict, then. I’m not a fan. What about meat?”
She considered this. “Pepperoni and sausage, definitely. Not a big fan of meatballs on pizza. That just seems weird.”
“Okay, we continue to agree. Here’s the big one—anchovies.”
“Hard pass.”
“Olives? Mushrooms?”
“Thumbs-up to both.”
“We’re going to do just fine, then.” He held his phone up to his ear without dialing. “Hi, yeah. I’d like a double Hawaiian with extra anchovies.” She swatted weakly at his arm and he laughed, then dialed in earnest, ordering them a pie that they would both appreciate.
“How would you feel about a beer?” she asked.
“Excellent.” Following her downstairs, he watched as she pulled two bottles from the fridge, opening them and handing him one, then tapping it with her own.
“Here’s to great sex and pizza compatibility,” she said.
“That is definitely something I can drink to.”
Nineteen
The next Tuesday was the second to last class in Sean’s self-defense course. Eva showed up twenty minutes early to make sure the room was ready. She hadn’t seen Sean since Sunday, the morning after the fair, and she was practically buzzing with excitement to be with him again.
She hadn’t expected to find Darren there, scrolling through his phone with a scowl. Her feet took immediate root on the floor. “What are you doing here?”
He looked up at her, his eyes dark with rage that set her nerves on high alert. Then he went back to scrolling.
“Darren. I asked you a question.” On one hand, she was glad that there was no audience of students for this interchange. On the other, his silent presence was getting more unnerving by the moment.
Finally, he held up his phone. “Just enjoying the comments on the latest video of you with your boyfriend.” He looked down at the screen and began to read in a sarcastic, high-pitched voice as if he was mocking a teenage girl. “OMG, these two are #goals. Look at the way they look at each other. I need a man that looks at me that way.” His gaze lifted from the phone and his expression was almost bored. “I can’t believe you’re embarrassing yourself this way, Eva. It’s ridiculous.”
